EZEKIEL 18: 31-32 "Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby you have transgressed: and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will you die? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, sayeth the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye." Please note the scripture chosen to be a text for the message to follow.

In a rite of passage hundreds of years old, Texas families from Harlingen to Amarillo are hugging their children as they head back to school. This past summer, many parents nostalgically helped their kids complete their required summer reading. Many of us fondly remember discovering Huckleberry Finn and The Hardy Boys while sprawled on the grass on a hot August day. Research shows that children who read at home with their families often perform better in school.

Even when motivated, losing weight can be very difficult. In addition, maintaining a healthful weight as one ages, is hard. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, research has been conducted on the role of fruits and vegetables in weight management. To lose weight a person must eat fewer calories than what he or she expends.

Roman Maddox and his sons, Ross and Dean, were home this weekend to give Ricky & David Maddox a hand with the cattle while their Dad, Roddy, is recovering from back surgery. Franklin Crain’s brother Lusty has been visiting with Franklin & Sandra over the holiday. He had surgery in Brownwood Thursday and will go back Tuesday for a final check up before heading back home to Bay City. DiAnne Scott and Cindy Lawhon spent Wednesday in Hico at the “Koffee Kup” cafe with Cindy’s Mom , Nita m ...

25 Years Ago August 30, 1984 James B. "Red" Gossett, San Saba District Supervisor for L.C.R.A. has retired from his employment here after 38 years. Cecil Lusty has been named by the Lower Colorado Authority to succeed Gossett. The M.D.A. Labor Day Telethon benefitting Jerry's Kids will begin Sunday, September 2, at 8 p.m.

Reading Recommendations: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, a Memoir, Bill Bryson Bill Bryson was born in the middle of the American century, 1951, in the middle of the United States, Des Moines, Iowa, in the middle of the largest generation in American history, the baby boomers. As one of the best and funniest writers alive, he is perfectly positioned to mine his memories of a totally all-American childhood for 24-carat memoir gold.

In their short but fascinating book, Extraterrestrials: A Field Guide for Earthlings, science writer Terence Dickinson and artist Adolf Schaller offer some educated conjectures about living beings elsewhere in the cosmos. Dickinson starts off with the reminder that as yet there is no evidence of any life beyond Earth, yet with the enormity of the cosmos, he thinks it is almost inconceivable that we are alone.

Some folks portray the Christian life as a bowl of cherries or bed of roses. “Come to Christ,” they say. “Your troubles will be over.” As certain rental car advertisements retort, “Not exactly.” Someone forgot to pit the cherries. Someone else didn’t take the thorns off the roses. Becoming a Christian does not suddenly remove all your problems.

We may as well have had the words “tourist” tattooed on our foreheads, my wife and I, during our first visit to New York City, 40 years ago this September. There was an extra jolt of excitement as we strolled Times Square where throngs of people were talking of nothing but Apollo 11’s successful moon landing and of mankind’s first footprints on the lunar surface. Too, we thought it neat to attend Sunday services at Marble Collegiate Church, where a respected theologian, author and mot ...

Praise God for the rain! Although the amounts differed for each area, it seems as if everyone had at least an inch. We came home from Fredericksburg in the pouring, and I do mean pouring, rain. You could barely see the road in front of you. San Saba’s football game was postponed until Saturday.

9-11-01, a day when many gave their lives for others and many worked to the point of exhaustion and beyond to rescue and help others. It was incredible to see the response of the thousands of volunteers who came forward to help afterwards. I firmly believe that if we could ask them they would be willing to do it again.

The Central Texas College (CTC) Continuing Education Department is currently registering for classes in September. Course offerings include a variety on non-credit classes in areas such as fitness/exercise, computers, home décor and more. Some of the available classes include: Computer Concepts: This beginning class provides an overview of computer and Internet technologies.

Mr. and Mrs. T. Noel Wood, Jr. of Algerita, TX are pleased to announce the engagement and forthcoming marriage of their daughter, Tamarah Chrystal Wood to Justin Wade Sharp, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Dale Sharp of Mart, TX. Tamarah is the granddaughter of the late T. Noel Sr.

These four Certified Nurse's Aides are all recent additions to our Eventide family. In the past, we have chosen only ONE employee of the month, but with the quality of work that these have brought to our home, tradition had to be broken! With little, and in a couple of cases NO experience, these young ladies have come in and worked like OLD PROS! The lengths that they have gone to for our residents has not gone unnoticed.

Do you ever feel stressed? Is stress a regular component of your lifestyle? What exactly is stress? What causes it and what can you do to manage and reduce it? What you experience as stress is the result of your reaction to the events, circumstances, and people you encounter. The more you feel frustrated, a victim, helpless, a target, or picked on, the more you feel stressed. You are surrounded by potential sources of stress.

HB 2730 is the DPS’s Sunset Legislation, and many of the DPS-related bills this session were included in HB 2730. Notable traffic and criminal laws that go into effect on Sept. 1st (unless otherwise indicated) include: * Seatbelts: HB 537 requires all occupants of a vehicle, no matter their age, to be secured by a safety belt, no matter where they are seated in the vehicle; changes the definition of a passenger vehicle to include a passenger van designed to transport 15 or fewer passengers i ...

The Llano Country Opry will feature Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Wanda Jackson on Saturday, September 12. The show will be held at the Lantex Theater in downtown Llano, and begins at 7:30 PM. Admission is $12.00 per person. Tickets are now on sale at the Llano National Bank, Llano Chamber of Commerce, Lively Computers in Kingsland or by calling (325) 247-5354. Wanda Jackson was only halfway through high school when, in 1954, country singer Hank Thompson heard her on an Oklahoma City radio show ...

To all who have been so generous, supportive, and helpful, the members of San Saba County EMS extend their sincere appreciation. Period from May 1through August 31, 2009: Gifts, Contributions, etc. Carrie Lisa Smith Memorial Fund-cash donation; Harold and Lindy Schulz-cash donation; Bobby Franklin-cash donation. Casey Hibler Jr., Fred & Candy Willis, Stan & Lisa Larremore, Tommy & Loy Nell Behrens, Travis & Tama Shaw, Ricky McKinnerney, Jackie & Donna Shahan, Buddy & Connie Adams, James & Me ...

The San Saba Scottish Rite Club will be meeting Thursday, September 10th at the San Saba Masonic Lodge. Supper will be served at 6:30 p.m. The club will provide the main course. Members are asked to bring a covered dish, vegetable or dessert. Especially invited are all master Masons, persons interested in masonry, spouses and guests.

“Homecoming Means Coming Home to What is in Your Heart”This has been one of the hottest summers on record, and it doesn’t seem to be over yet. We’ve certainly had a lot of fun at the center this summer despite the heat. As we move into fall, (and hopefully some lovely fall-like weather too) there will be some new classes, more fun parties and a few surprises.

The Sharon Club met Tuesday evening, Sept. 1, at Parkview Baptist fellowship hall for the first meeting of the year with Zelda Campbell as hostess. Charlotte Holland, president, gave the blessing and roll call was answered with each member sharing her summer vacation..the longest vacation distance, was Barbara Riggs traveling in and around Alaska.

AUSTIN - The Texas Department of Transportation unveiled new website tools Tuesday, enabling website visitors to interactively examine lists of congested roadways in the state, look up pavement condition ratings and see how the maintenance funds spent in their area will impact their roadways. The tools, which are linked to the department’s project tracker, were created at the direction of the Texas Legislature. The idea of sharing congestion data with the public is not new - the Texas Trans ...

The rain lilies are standing tall, the ring is around the moon, Oatmeal festival is upon us, rain is on the way. Praise God we certainly need it. Now that we have survived the Hottest Summer in Texas History we are certainly welcoming the cooler weather. Sad isn’t it that mid to high 90 degrees is considered cooler temperatures.

The 60-day rainfall for July through August continued slightly below normal at Abilene (3.81 inches, which was 0.12 inches below normal) and well above normal at San Angelo (6.53 inches, which was 3.73 inches above normal). At many other locations across West Central Texas, the 60-day rainfall was approximately 200 to 300 percent of normal while Coleman and the southern part of Shackelford Counties averaged near 100 percent of normal rainfall.

Looks like we finally got some mornings that give us a bit of a hint of Fall being right around the corner. Most of the folks that I visit with have been complaining of the summer’s heat for the past couple of months. I really can’t say as I blame them, being that this humble scribe gets weary of the summer months right away.

Receipts totaled 8107 head for the week. The demand was good and market active on a choice set of calves and yearlings that were on hand. Stocker steers were steady to $1 lower and heifers were steady. Feeder steers sold $2 lower while feeder heifers were steady. Fleshy bull calves and fat heifer calves were $2 to $5 lower.

Donald Dean McLaughlin, 86, of San Saba, passed away on Saturday, September 5, 2009 in San Saba, TX. He was born June 11, 1923 in Independence, MO, the son of Charles McLaughlin and Linda Graber McLaughlin. Donald Dean McLaughlin and Bettye Anderson were married in Dallas. He worked as a salesmen and he was active in the First United Methodist Church, San Saba Museum, P.O.A.

Detectives in Togas By Henry Winterfield Submitted by Garrett Ratliff Rufus DID write CAIUS IS A DUMBBELL on his tablet. The real question is, however, did he rob and tie-up his teacher, Xantippus? Most importantly, did he write CAIUS IS A DUMBBELL on the temple wall? This humorous mystery is an excellent story about seven boys trying to find out who ACTUALLY wrote on the temple wall.

Nickie Ortiz from San Saba played on the Brownwood 12U City League where they went undefeated, out scoring their opponents 160 to 4. After placing first in District they traveled to Athens, Texas for the TAAS week-long state tournament. There was Sixteen Teams attending from all over Texas. After winning their first game Monday night, they got put into the losers bracket Tuesday and had their work cut out for them.

It’s hard to believe it is already the third week of school. Time seems to fly by once school starts. Currently Richland Springs has 150 students enrolled. This year we have an 8 period day that allows for more elective classes, plus added math tutorials. The school day starts at 8:00 and ends at 3:36.

As was the scene around Central Texas Friday night with many games being suspended due to lightning, the Cherokee Indians had to return to Marble Falls Faith Academy Saturday evening to finish their contest. The game was suspended with 1:24 remaining in the 1st quarter with Faith Academy leading 8-14.

The San Saba Ladies Golf Association met September 3, 2009 for the monthly business meeting with the following ladies present: Sandee Hartley, Nell McHorse, Jo Ann Snow, Hattie Rogers, Bobbie Churchill, Becky Hardin, Jo Anne Hardy, and Anita Miles. The President, Anita Miles, called the meeting to order and the opening prayer was led by the Club Chaplain, Nell McHorse.

The San Saba High School Cheerleaders sponsored a Little Dillo Cheerleader camp on August 29th. The camp consisted of girls aged 3 to 6th grade. All participants learned cheers, chants and a dance. The Little Dillo Cheerleaders will be performing at Halftime during the JV game against Goldthwaite on September 10, 2009.

Local fishermen caught these fish on a recent trip to Presidio, Texas.

Esperanza Barrera, of San Marcos, Texas, won the Division IA Women's Epee event at the United States Fencing Association's National Championships (USFA) that were held at the Gaylord Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas on July 1-12, 2009. On July 8th, Mrs. Barrera took first place out of a field of 69 competitors from all over the United States.

Several 4-H activities/projects are starting up this month. To help you understand the projects, here is a little information. 4-H Shooting Sports This project meets twice a month from September thru June. Youth who want to participate in this project have to attend two mandatory safety meetings. The safety class is only usually offered once or maybe twice a year.

Members of the San Saba FFA attended the State FFA Conference held in Dallas this past July. While attending the conference they stayed at the Renaissance Hotel in Down Town Dallas, attended a sponsored Aaron Watson Concert, FFA Dance and went to Six Flags. While there, they participated in delegate voting and leadership activities.

San Saba JV 12 - Mason JV 8 Last Thursday we traveled to the Puncher Dome and played the Mason JV Punchers. We were able to come away with a hard fought victory. We were trailing 8-6 and scored on a 60 yard pass from Clayton Perry to Luke Cox with 1:35 left in the game! Defensively we played well with the exception of the opening series.

Mother Nature only postponed the duel between Mason and San Saba to Saturday afternoon instead of the expected Friday night. I want to thank Coach Mathis for doing the first half statistics while I finished work. He did a good job with individuals but I do not have the team drives.

The first cross country meet of the season will be Saturday, September 12, 2009. Events will begin at 8:30 a.m. in Mill Pond Park. The only entrance open will be the back one which is Mound Street. Friday, September 11, 2009, the track complex will be closed for the evening beginning about 5:00 p.m.

This is a very difficult column to write because I need to speak to you about a topic that is most unpopular—property taxes. San Saba ISD adopted a budget that will call for a Tax Ratification Election. Most people know this type of election as a “roll back election”. The term “roll back” means, if the Tax Ratification Election fails, the tax rate will roll back to the previous years rate.